A dental explorer (alternatively referred to herein as an “explorer”) is a sharp, pointed metallic instruments so designed that various surfaces of the teeth may be conveniently reached with the explorer point. The explorer provides the tactile information to the clinician's fingers and is used to locate calculus deposits, tooth surface irregularities, defective margins on restorations, decalcified areas, and carious lesions.
Dental explorers are generally composed of a handle (or shaft), a shank and a calibrated working end. The handle (alternately referred to as the “shaft”) is the part grasped in the operator's hand, usually straight and without variation in size, smooth knurled and/or serrated to allow for better instrument control. The shank begins with the first twisted portion of the shaft and ends where the nib or blade begins. Typically, it may be straight, single, double or triple angled. It tapers smoothly from the shaft to the nib/blade. The nib or blade is the working part of the instrument and begins at the last angle, which terminates the shank.
Three different explorers are commonly used in dentistry. One, commonly referred to as the “number 23” explorer, ends in a semicircle tapering to a point at its distal end. The working end of the other two general types of dental explorers commonly referred to as the “number 6” and “number 17” explorers, are shorter, straight, and extend at an angle to the handle. Different types of explorers are differentiated from one another by the design of the working end. Some examples include, but are not limited to, straight explorers, interproximal probes, cow horn (or arch) explorers, back action explorers, shepherds hook explorers and orban-type explorers.
The working ends of such dental instruments are very sharp and, accordingly, can very easily cause injury to the gums, tongue, and other sensitive tissues within a patient's mouth. While this has not been considered a major concern, since most patients are able to maintain their head in a fixed position during such an examination, it is well known amongst dental professionals that some patients are prone to jerking, or otherwise moving, their head during such an examination. For instance, when using this instrument on children or mentally challenged individuals, there is a higher risk of accidental injury to soft tissue in the mouth than there is while examining a mature or so-called normal patient. Children and disabled individuals have a tendency to move their heads more often and without notice, especially when they are nervous, upset or crying. If the dental explorer is in the mouth during an examination by an operator (e.g. a dentist or dental hygienist) and the patient jerks their head or moves uncontrollably, the dental explorer can prick or cause injury to the soft tissue of the oral cavity. Presently, the operator is relegated to trying to quickly and carefully remove the working end of the dental explorer from the oral cavity while attempting to avoid soft tissue damage. Obviously, this is simply impossible in most cases since the sharp working end of the instrument is directly exposed to the patient's oral cavity until it has been removed. Furthermore, even in instances where the operator has the reflexes, dexterity and sheer luck, to move the working end of the instrument from intraoral cavity without scraping against any intraoral tissue, there remains a high likelihood of damage to the patient's lips during extraction from the mouth.
Accordingly, there is a need in the dental industry for a solution to this common problem. Accordingly, it would be highly desirable to provide a means for enabling operators of dental explorers to efficiently and effectively create a protective barrier between a sharp working end of such a dental instrument and intraoral tissues within a patient's mouth such that the likelihood of intraoral tissue damage is greatly reduced—and preferably virtually eliminated. It would be further desirable to provide such a solution that does not have a limitation of negatively impacting the operator's ability to conduct the examination. Still further, it would be highly beneficial to provide such a solution having a design amenable to being easily retrofitted, or selectively attached, to existing conventional dental explorer instruments.